Articles by Laasya Shekhar

Children these days are active shoppers, both online and offline, but are we doing enough to make our youth aware of their rights as consumers? It does not appear so. The subject of consumer rights is given scant regard and any structured education on this subject is usually confined to students of commerce at the higher secondary school and college levels. In fact, a lesson on consumer protection for students of Class 10 has now been deleted, following a revision of syllabus in Tamil Nadu. “The lesson on the rights and responsibilities of consumers in civics was an essential guide…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடந்த மாதம், நுங்கம்பாக்கத்தை சேர்ந்த சரிதா குமார் ஆன்லைன் மூலம் டிசைனர் புடவை ஒன்றை வாங்கினார். அதற்கான விலையாக பத்தாயிரம் ரூபாயை ஆன்லைனில் செலுத்தி ஒரு மாத காலம் புடவைக்காக காத்திருந்தார். ஆனால் ஆர்டர் செய்த புடவை மட்டும் வரவேயில்லை. சந்தேகம் ஏற்பட, அந்த கடையைப் பற்றி முகநூலில் மற்ற வாடிக்கையாளர்களின் அனுபவத்தை பற்றி படிக்கத்தொடங்கினார். அப்பொழுது தான் அந்த கடையின் முகவரியும், தொலைபேசியும் தவறானது என்பதை கண்டு அதிர்ச்சியடைந்தார். இந்த தேடலை முன்னதாக சரிதா செய்திருந்தால், தன் பணத்தை காப்பாற்றியிருப்பார். கவனக்குறைவு அல்லது அறியாமை காரணமாக, பெரும்பாலான வாடிக்கையாளர்கள் சரிதா சந்தித்தது போன்ற சூழ்நிலையில் சிக்கிக் கொள்கின்றனர்.  இது முக்கியமான ஒரு கேள்வியை நம்மிடையே எழுப்புகிறது: நுகர்வோரின் கடமைகள் என்ன? நீண்ட நாட்களாக வணிகத்தில் இருக்கும் ஒரு கடையைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும். பொருளை வாங்கும் முன்னர், தரம் மற்றும் விலை குறித்து முழுமையான தகவல்களை பெறுங்கள்.…

Change is a slow process and to implement it in cities on a large scale requires active citizen engagement and participation. Through a mix of traditional and non-traditional means, Alby John Varghese IAS, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South) has attempted to make inroads into the areas of waste management, rainwater harvesting and restoration of water bodies. In this exclusive interview, Alby John takes us through the various initiatives and challenges faced in implementing them.  How is the zero waste initiative picking up in the South region of Chennai?  If we look at the South as a region, there are five zones,…

Red Hills Reservoir is in the news again. As per news reports, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had accepted an application from the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) to allocate around 54 acres of land in the Red Hills catchment area for the construction of a women’s entrepreneur zone. This land is designated as 'Redhills catchment area' in the Master Plan 2026; that is, no construction or development activity is allowed here. But once the project is approved, the land use will be changed to 'industrial'. The move has elicited criticism from citizens of Chennai, reeling as they are…

How does a national downturn affect a small, local market in this city? If we want to understand that, we should probably look at the Pudupet spare parts market.  The nation-wide auto sector slowdown has hit the livelihoods of many traders at Pudupet, a second hand vehicle-parts market off Egmore. There has been a slump in metal prices due to the slowdown, a factor that has probably had the most damaging impact on the Pudupet traders.  “There has been a steep fall in metal prices: Iron price has declined to Rs 16 from Rs 25 and aluminium costs Rs 63…

A month ago, Saritha Kumar of Nungambakkam ordered a designer saree from an online store. She paid the cash of Rs 10,000 online and waited for a month. The delivery never reached her. Upon suspicion, when she read reviews from other customers on the store’s Facebook page, Saritha realised she had been cheated just like many others before her. She was shocked to know that even the store’s address and phone number were invalid.  Had Saritha researched about the store before ordering the saree, she would have saved the money. Either due to carelessness or ignorance, a lot of consumers…

Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board's (CMWSSB) tongue-in-cheek tweet to coincide with ISRO's launch of Chandrayaan 2 was an indication that the department had finally got it right on social media. The tweet was a hit and the department, which had been heavily criticised for Chennai's water crisis this summer and the way it was managed, finally seemed to have touched the right chords in the hearts of its followers with this. https://twitter.com/CHN_Metro_Water/status/1153323842644824064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1153323842644824064&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252FCHN_Metro_Water%252Fstatus%252F1153323842644824064%26widget%3DTweet The CMWSSB has, in fact, significantly bolstered its online presence over the last three months, constantly putting out information about the lake levels on Facebook and…

We often hear about encroachments and solid waste sounding the death knell for water bodies in Chennai. Villivakkam Lake is no exception; it shares the same plight as any other water body in the city. However, it is set to change. Corporation officials say that the transformation of this 36.5 acre lake will be revolutionary -- replete with state-of-the art recreation facilities such as walkway, gym, children's play area, library, food and play courts, open air theatre and a multipurpose lawn. Greater Chennai Corporation will adopt Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)’s natural process of treating wastewater and use it for…

In 2017, Tamil Nadu witnessed an alarming oubreak of Dengue, with a total of 6,546 cases recorded in Chennai alone. The high numbers prompted the state health department and the Greater Chennai Corporation to take proactive measures in handling the menace.  According to data provided by the health department of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the city has been witnessing a declining trend in Dengue fever cases this year: a total of 196 cases were registered in August 2019, as against 213 cases in August 2018 and 1104 cases in the same month in 2017.   Validating the data, medical superintendent…

It is a rough journey for the Adyar River as it flows from Adhanur village of Kancheepuram district to Chennai. At  suburban Tambaram, the water body is greeted with a barrage of sewage that turns the muddy water pitch black. Further down  at Tiruneermalai, heaps of biomedical waste are let into the waters. As it flows through Anakaputhur, industrial effluents pollute the water, leaving an unbearable stench. And at Kotturpuram, the river is almost walled in by construction material and solid waste thrown on its banks.  Dumping at Kotturpuram: Not a new story The illegal dumping of construction waste is…